Kimberly Cheatle, director of the United States Secret Service, resigned this Tuesday following criticism stemming from security lapses at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where former President Donald Trump suffered an assassination attempt, according to NBC.
Cheatle -who had been in office since August 2022- faced numerous calls for resignation and several investigations into how the attacker was able to get so close to the Republican presidential candidate during the outdoor rally.
"I take full responsibility for the security failure," Cheatle stated in an email to his staff.
"In light of recent events, I have taken with great sadness the difficult decision to step down as director," she added, according to U.S. media reports.
The continuation of Cheatle in her position had been called into question after her recent statement at the Capitol, where she was summoned to explain the serious failures in protecting Trump.
During his statement, lawmakers repeatedly questioned how the attacker was able to get so close to the Republican presidential candidate when he was supposed to be under careful surveillance.
Kimberly's explanations not only failed to convince but also enraged some of the Republican lawmakers.
"Director Cheatle, as Donald Trump is alive, and thank God he is, you seem incompetent. If he had been killed, you would seem guilty," declared the Republican representative from Ohio, Mike Turner.
During the hearing at the Capitol, several lawmakers suggested that Cheatle should not remain in his position.
When asked why there were no agents on the roof where the aggressor was located or whether the Secret Service used drones to monitor the area, Cheatle seemed unsure and said she was awaiting the development of the investigation.
"The solemn mission of the Secret Service is to protect the leaders of our nation. On July 13, we failed," declared the head of the Secret Service before the House Oversight Committee, taking full responsibility for the agency's errors during the attack at the Trump rally.
Nevertheless, Cheatle, with nearly three decades in the agency, stated that he was the "right person" to lead the Secret Service despite the failures.
Representative Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, recalled that the director of the Secret Service during the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan subsequently resigned, suggesting that Cheatle should follow his example.
The shooting on July 13 left one spectator dead, Trump was injured in the ear, and two other attendees were wounded after Thomas Matthew Crooks fired from a nearby building.
The attack on Trump was the most serious attempt to assassinate a president or presidential candidate in the United States since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981.
What do you think?
COMMENTFiled under: